Fusch am Grossglockner, 21st - 23rd of September, 2017

Few passes in the Alps have a name like the Grossglockner at the highest mountain of the Austrian Alp region. Built in the economy crises to vitalize the employment market and to give the transport of goods between Kärnten and the Salzburger Land a boost the picturesque mountain road soon became a touristic landmark and right from the beginning the steep way up the hill became a challenge for the motorists before WWII. But not only the families with their small cars but also the elite of the international racing scene in their bolides took the Grossglockner early on. Early in the 1930s the hill climb was as popular as the GP sport and races like at the Klausenpass attracted masses one could barely imagine today. Just as the construction of the pass was finished the first international hill climb was held and after the end of the Klausenrennen the hill climb championship had a new attraction. What could be a better promotion for the newly built pass than an international hill climb and the young Scuderia Ferrari was present with the legendary P3 and the 8C Monza to compete both in the race and the sports car class. Competing with a vary of MG, ERA, Bugatti and Maserati the average speed was an outstanding 79.6 km/h on a dusty road for the winning P3 of Tadini.

.

It took until 1938 for the racers to return but since the first year the racing scene has changed a lot as the German Silver Arrows took the sport to a new level. Unparalleled both in their technical development as well as the painstaking preparation the supercharged Auto Union and the Mercedes-Benz fought the next and final two editions for the laurels. In 1938 it was the multiple hill climb champion Hans Stuck on Auto Union and the following year Mercedes works driver Hermann Lang winning the races. Unfortunately the war ended this glorious racing era and since the Grossglockner never again saw a race like this.

Since 2012 now the organizers of the well-known Schloss Dyck Classic Days brought the cars back to the Glockner but certainly not as a race but the very popular idea of a regularity trial where the entrants set their time in different runs. Already in the very first edition the events was ennobled by the present of a large manufacturer as Mercedes-Benz was back at the hill with the W125 as they raced in the original edition. Now, 5 years later finally the rival of the old days was present at the hill climb with the Audi Tradition not only bringing two of their faithful replicas from the C- and D-Type but also none less than the son of the original winner: Hans-Joachim “Strietzel” Stuck.

His father was one of the most successful drivers of his era and when Caracciola is often referred as the “Rainmaster” due to his abilities in the wet Hans Stuck was certainly the “Hillclimb-Master” due to his numerous wins up the hill. In 1938 he drove the famous 16-cylinder Auto Union C-Type designed by Ferdinand Porsche. Unfortunately none of the original C-Types survived but since Audi Tradition became dedicated to the history of the 4 rings several authentic replicas were built and two of them were present this weekend headlining a line-up of about 50 cars. The C-Type as driven by Strietzel with the original helmet and gloves of his father featured the typical twin rear tyres as seen on several hill climbs, the D-Type on the other hand was brought in the normal GP set-up and the twin supercharged 12-cylinder racer had much more problems with the thin air in the following two days than the earlier V16. Although Stuck can look back to a long and successful race career he admitted himself that walking in the shoes of his father wearing his original gear was certainly one of the highlights.

On Thursday during the day the first cars arrived in Fusch to be scrutineered and starting a small tour through the picturesque landscape in the evening.

Friday morning the cars were brought up to the paddock next to the toll station were the Auto Unions already waited to be warmed up. After free practice sessions for the road legal cars on the still opened pass finally the first run was held in the afternoon. Led by the C-Type the cars made their way into glorious sunshine as the mountain presented itself from the best possible side. After some snow in the last days the landscape was as white as one would expect from a postcard and with two days of sun and mild temperatures the way up the hill was accompanied by great visibility giving the Alps a superb background for the pictures. Unfortunately the event did not attract as many visitors as it would have deserved but those making their way up the hill will certainly never forget the glorious sound of the 16-cylinder in the skilled hands of Stuck. After a rather relaxed first run behind a camera car of Audi putting this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity on film the second day Stuck seemed to have even more fun giving the Silver Arrow a good run up the hill.

But not only did the Auto Union impress but several supercharged MG, two Bugatti and the Maserati 8CM were pretty quick up the hill. After the second run on Saturday morning the last stage of the weekend was up to the Edelweisspitze, the highest point accessible by car through some of the original cobblestone serpentines.

With some bad weather over the last two months locals reported that this was actually the best weather in weeks and passing the mountain once more this morning one could only congratulate the organizers for the best luck they could have. Unlike the days before the mountain was covered in clouds and with the mild temperatures of the last days a lot of the snow has already disappeared. For all the entrants and the visitors this was a weekend that will be remembered for quite a long time and maybe those deciding not to come due to the previous weather certainly missed an opportunity to enjoy their cars on one of the most famous passes in the Alps. They will have to wait for the next edition and until then I hope they enjoy our coverage of this year’s edition.

Images ... Peter Singhof
www.ClassicCarPhotography.de